Prosecutors: Suspect's vehicle was bloody after cop hit-and-run

The hit-and-run assault of a D.C. police officer last month left a white Lexus stained with his blood and doctors racing to save his leg from amputation, authorities said Thursday as a judge refused to release the man accused of taking aim at Sean Hickman while he patrolled Southeast Washington.

"The car turned directly toward him and intentionally ran him over," Detective Thurman Stallings testified during a hearing for Kevin Burno and two other men charged with the March 5 episode.

Stallings said that Hickman was on his motorcycle when he spotted Burno driving without functioning headlights. When Hickman gestured to Burno to adjust his lights, Burno allegedly swerved to strike him.

Stallings said that as Hickman lay on the ground in the dark, he heard the Lexus "squealing off," and investigators later "observed blood on the vehicle."

But authorities contended that the men had done more than target a patrolman and alleged that the trio had also scrambled and conspired to evade capture.

James Parks, who was in the car with Burno and faces a charge of being an accessory after the assault, told detectives that in the aftermath of the collision, the men shouted, "Don't stop! Let's go!"

As Stallings detailed Parks' account in court, Burno and Darrin Twisdale, who was also charged with a felony, turned toward Parks and glared.

Judge Frederick Sullivan, who said Burno had possibly shown a "total lack of empathy for somebody who was maybe dying in the street," ordered him held without bond after Burno's attorney questioned whether prosecutors had enough evidence to proceed.

Parks and Twisdale also remained jailed, although their detention was tied to a sexual abuse case.

Stallings said that Hickman, who is at a rehabilitation center, may still have his foot amputated depending on his progress.

The incident prompted a political firestorm after the city acknowledged that an ambulance from Prince George's County had to rush Hickman to the hospital because the District didn't have one available.

The shortage led to an internal probe that resulted in the discipline of seven employees.